If you’re of my generation (40 something and rapidly heading towards 50) you’ll probably remember the Sunday tea time treat of tinned fruit and evaporated milk that you used to have. It’s not something you tend to see too often now though. However tinned fruit is not just tasty and convenient, but it’s a good source of vitamins and minerals. A product no longer confined to just grabbing the tin opener, opening the tin and pouring the contents into a bowl before smothering it with evaporated milk or ice cream; or simply just placing a ring of pineapple on to your gammon steak; you can use it in many different recipes, to prepare delicious food without the faff and fuss of having to peel, slice and prepare it yourself.

I’ve adapted a baked cheesecake recipe that I use and have incorporated a tin of Del Monte pears which pair perfectly with almonds and Amaretto for an added depth of flavour.

Melt the butter, add this to the crushed biscuits and mix together thoroughly.

Pour this biscuit mixture into the base of your prepared tin and press down evenly.

Place in the fridge to cool whilst you prepare your cheesecake filling.

In a food processor, add 150g of the drained pears, the Philadelphia and mascarpone cheeses, the eggs, Amaretto, almonds and the sugar. I find that using my Kenwood food processor makes this an incredibly easy and quick process

Blitz these together until smooth.

Drain the remaining pears from the juice and cut into approx. 5mm pieces.

Stir the pear pieces into the cheesecake mixture to evenly distribute.

Pour this mixture over the biscuit base in the tin.

Bake in the oven for approx. 40 mins until the top has started to colour and there is still a very slight ‘wobble’ in the middle of the cheesecake.

Turn off the oven, but leave the cheesecake in there, with the door slightly open until it’s cooled completely. (Leaving the cheesecake to cool slowly in the oven allows it set fully and prevents it from cracking).

Remove the cheesecake from the tin and serve, cut in to small slices.

I was sent a selection of canned fruits from Del Monte along with a gift voucher to purchase additional ingredients with to develop this recipe.

As a member of the BBC Good Food Show Blogger Community, and having worked on a previous Stoves UK recipe re-creation, I was again invited to take part and cook up a storm in my kitchen, with inspiration received from the live demonstrations that the chefs give at the shows. I sat in the audience and watched the very talented Phil Vickery cook eels, but I’m not brave enough to try those slippery little suckers (I used to go fishing with my husband, so know their habitat and slippery/slimy persona). Instead I chose to do two recipes which can both be found on the Stoves Recipe website: (I have not re-published the recipes here; merely the method of preparation, as neither recipe is mine, but I have provided the links to them which you can find on the Stoves website).

Following the recipe (link above) and having sealed my chicken breasts until golden, before placing them in the oven to cook, I then sliced my shallots and crushed my garlic, sweating them off until softened but not coloured. I added my sliced leeks to the pan and continued to sweat the vegetables before adding the cream, reducing the mixture and stirring through the oregano and mascarpone.To my pan of boiling water, I dropped in my gnocchi, removing them when they floated to the top to signify they were cooked. They were then added to a pan of olive oil and butter and cooked until golden.

The chicken breasts are served on a bed of the creamed leeks, surrounded by a tumbling of the gnocchi and gives you a dinner worth of a fully tummy and an empty plate.

I lined my springform tin with baking parchment (it makes it easier to remove it from the tin to serve). I crushed my Oaties biscuits (Tesco’s own Hob Nobs) and melted my butter, then mixed them both together, pressing this into the base of my tin, before placing it in the fridge to cool.

The mascarpone, lemon curd and lemon zest, along with the lemon juice and Limoncello (I added 5tbs, not the 2tbs that are recommended in the recipe), all went into a bowl and were beaten together until thoroughly combined and smooth. This was then poured over the chilled cheesecake base and placed back into the fridge to set overnight.

The lemon slices are candied in syrup for the decoration.

Remove your cheesecake from the tin to a serving plate and serve chilled.

As part of the BBC Good Food Show Blogger Community, I was invited to take part in the Stoves UK cook along, for which I received a Tesco gift voucher to purchase ingredients.

We love cheesecake, but the stuff that supermarkets pass off leaves something to be desired, not to mention the frozen ones you can buy (don’t get me started on the taste & mushiness of these), so, as requested by some of my friends over on my Facebook page, Freycob’s Cakes, here’s my recipe.

We were invited to friends for a BBQ today, and this is what I made for dessert to take with us. The conclusion was that this was the BEST cheesecake they’ve ever tasted!

1. Crush the Digestive biscuits.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Mix the butter and biscuits together then press firmly into an 20cm (8″) springform tin. (I line the base of mine with parchment to make it easier to remove).
4. Place in the fridge for 30 mins to cool & set the butter.
5. Whisk the cream, Philadelphia, lemon juice, rind & sugar together until well combined and thick.
6. Spread on top of the cooled base.
7. Return to the fridge for at least an hour to cool.

You can leave it plain or use berries in season to top the cheesecake or make your own coulis as follows:

8. Blitz a large punnet of blueberries with 100g of frozen raspberries and 50g (or to taste) of caster sugar.
9. You can sieve your fruit if required, or as we like it, leave it as it is.
10. Top your slice of cheesecake with a generous portion of fruit and enjoy!

If you prefer, you can defrost 400g of frozen berries to mix with your sugar to use as your topping.